TIFF Day 4 – The Sessions

Read all our TIFF 2012 coverage here.

Director: Ben Lewin  //  Country: USA  //  Year: 2012  //  Language: English  //  Runtime: 95 minutes  //  Rating:14A  //  Principal Cast: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy  //  Screenplay: Ben Lewin

The Sessions (previously known as The Surrogate, but changed due to similarities with the Bruce Willis action film from a few years ago) is based on the real-life story of polio-sufferer Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes), a devout Catholic who goes on a quest to lose his virginity. The film is based on a newspaper article that O’Brien, a poet and writer, had published – “On Seeing a Sex Surrogate“.

O’Brien has full body sensations but is unable to move his body below the neck, meaning getting the ride is proving difficult. He seeks the counsel of a Berkeley hippie priest played by William H. Macy and decides to enlist the help of Cheryl, a sex surrogate (a therapist who works with a patient by initiating a sexual relationship) played by Helen Hunt.

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Sun. Dance. [10 to look forward to from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival]

Every year around this time I take a cheeky look at flights to Salt Lake City, Utah.

One of these years I’m actually going to the Sundance Film Festival and try pack in ten days of snow, drinking and independent cinema. But sadly work, money and life commitments mean it won’t be in 2012.

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